The Horizon 2020 programme of the European Commission is an important opportunity to advance our knowledge of growth and innovation in the European Union labour markets, as well as the dynamism that creates inclusive but competitive social environments. The GEMM project addresses the вЂ?Migration, Prosperity and Growth DimensionвЂ™ of the call on the European Growth Agenda. With over 20 researchers located in 8 countries in Europe, our consortium will approach this important topic and deliver:

-В В В В В В В В В В An analysis of the obstacles to the successful incorporation of migrants and in particular to the attraction and retention of highly-skilled migrants; - A thorough assessment of the migration-related drivers of growth and the optimal functioning of markets;

-В В В В В В В В В В An assessment of ethnic inequality in the labour market as a barrier to competitiveness and innovation in Europe;

-В В В В В В В В В В A set of policy recommendations that contain concrete guidelines as to how migrants can contribute to the EU economy and society.

These deliverables are realized by putting forward an innovative research agenda that combines scientific rigour, a mixed-methods and comparative approach, and crosscutting expertise. The main contribution of this project is to advance our understanding of ethnic inequality as a central barrier to the optimal functioning of the European labour market and thus to growth and innovation. Ethnic inequality inhibits two main migrationrelated drivers of growth: the efficient use of human capital and managing mobility of human capital both within Europe and from other regions in the world.

In the research framework, we analyse the interrelatedness between ethnic inequality as a barrier to growth, and the two migration-related drivers of growth (see also the conceptual structure in section 1.3.1). We achieve a unified research focus across work packages (WPs) in two ways: by analysing types of migrants defined by their educational qualifications вЂ“ individuals with high, medium and vocational, and low skills; by exploring three sets of determinants of inequality - individual (gender, age, health, family situation, caring responsibilities, social ties (friendship ties), religious affiliation,), contextual (neighbourhood deprivation, segregation, climate of reception), institutional determinants (employment discrimination, labour market (occupational, sectoral) segmentation, flexibility and security of work, access to social welfare (policy regimes more broadly)).

The approach of the GEMM project is five-fold:

1.В В В В В В A comprehensive analysis of the relation between drivers of growth and ethnic inequality in the labour market with a unified focus. In the analysis, we outline both the short-term and long-term consequences of migration.

2.В В В В В В A comparative research design. In order to analyse the individual, contextual and institutional determinants of ethnic inequality and growth, one needs to have sufficient variation in these conditions. We therefore build a cross-national analytic research framework that considers multiple channels of influence at different levels.

3.В В В В В В Empirical scope. The project offers an empirical scope that is both geographically broad and detailed. We analyse the main immigrant societies in Europe, and compare them to other regions in the world that are highly attractive to skilled migrants such as the US, Canada and Australia. Furthermore, for a deeper understanding, we carry out case studies in strategically selected immigration countries (DE, UK, NL, ES, IT, NO) and sending countries (RO, BU, ES, IT).

4.В В В В В В Inter-disciplinarity. Our consortium contains economists, sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists and social geographers, who each have made outstanding contributions to the field of migration and inequality research. Our advisory board includes scholars with a wealth of methodological and migration expertise and comprises leading migration specialists in Europe, the US, Canada and Australia.

5.В В В В В В Methodology: mixed-method design. The empirical design of the project makes use of the strengths of different research methods, both quantitative and qualitative. We collect field-experimental data, analyse existing survey data, and build our understanding of real-life motivations behind migration decisions through in-depth interviews and focus groups. We thus collect both new data, as well as make use of 6 existing data. The mixed-method design ensures that we can offer a multi-facetted and scientifically rigorous analysis when seeking causal interpretations to inform policy.